3 Effective Ways to Treat Glaucoma

You’ve had vision problems ever since you were a child. For over 40 years, you’ve worn corrective lenses and kept a pair of contact lenses close by. Whenever you take off your glasses, the entire world becomes a blur. At this point, you’ve even started wearing them in the shower.

Although your vision has always been bad, you’ve recently started feeling increased pressure in your eyes. After paying a visit to your ophthalmologist, you discovered that you’ve come down with glaucoma.Since this is a condition from which both your parents suffered, the news doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, if your glaucoma isn’t promptly treated, you stand to lose your vision entirely.

Sure, your eyesight leaves a lot to be desired, but it certainly beats total blindness. Fortunately, there are a wide range of treatment options available to people suffering from glaucoma.

Laser Treatment

After being diagnosed with glaucoma, your ophthalmologist may recommend that you undergo a laser treatment. This procedure is virtually painless and can often be performed in less than 20 minutes.

Using precision-based lasers, a trained ophthalmologist will focus on your eyes’ filtering drains and regulate fluid production, thereby reducing the pressure put on your eyeballs. Anyone feeling apprehensive about laser treatment will be pleased to learn that this procedure has an incredibly high rate of success.

With over 85% of patients experiencing a noticeable reduction in eye pressure, there’s no denying that laser surgery is the most effective treatment option for glaucoma sufferers. Keep in mind, however, that glaucoma can always reoccur – in which case, the procedure will need to be repeated.

Oral Medication

In less severe cases of glaucoma, prescription medication is effective at reducing symptoms and relieving pressure on the eyes. These pills serve to decrease fluid production in your eyes, thus diminishing the amount of pressure put on the eyeballs.

Depending on how serious your particular case of glaucoma is, oral medication may be taken in conjunction with eye drops. Although certain glaucoma medications are synonymous with odd side effects, it’s important to weigh potential side effects against the consequences of not treating your glaucoma.

Additionally, if you experience any side effects, make sure to speak with your ophthalmologist before going off your meds.

Eye Drops

Prescription eye drops function in much the same manner as oral medication. In addition to reducing the pressure put on your eyeballs, eye drops carry far fewer side effects than the aforementioned meds.

After undergoing corrective surgery, you may still be required to apply eye drops on a regular basis in order to keep the condition in check. Before beginning an eye drop regiment, make sure your ophthalmologist knows about any other medications you’re currently taking.

Since they are absorbed into your bloodstream, it’s possible that the eye drops you’re prescribed may interact with other medications and give way to dangerous side effects. As the leading cause of blindness in people over 40, glaucoma is not a condition to take lightly. After receiving a glaucoma diagnosis, it’s imperative that you seek treatment as promptly as possible.

The vision lost to glaucoma cannot be regained, so it doesn’t pay to bide your time when suffering from this condition. Luckily, when it comes to treating glaucoma, your options are far from limited.

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